Bardock: Lost Saiyans
by Weapon E
Summary: Bardock finds himself on a strange planet with a community of Saiyans who abandoned their old ways.
1. Prologue: Still alive

Disclaimer: A majority of the following dialogue and events are from the movie Bardock: Father of Goku, and Bardock and the Saiyans still don't belong to me.

Bardock beheld the corpses of his fallen friends with a combination of anger, sorrow, and hatred for lord Frieza.

"You weren't low level!" he exclaimed, "You were better than most of their elites!" He staggered to his pod, "We'll meet again someday, sooner or later we'll meet again!"

As he shuttled back to Vegeta, hatred for Frieza fueling him, he passed another pod. As he did this he saw visions of his young son Kakarot, visions wherein he had become a righteous warrior. He thought he was going insane.

Moments later he touched down, exiting his pod, he ran into two guards, "Bardock? Hey are you alright?" asked one of them. "Yeah," he replied, "Please move, I have to go."

"Oh hey," Said the other, "you just missed you son." Bardock stopped moving. "Just now?" He asked. Yep, he left just before you arrived sir," the guard replied, "you missed him by a matter of seconds, I wish I had known it was you coming in, I could have delayed his departure."

'It's true then, all true,' he thought, I wasn't hallucinating, my son, that planet…!' And then it dawned on him, "Then the other part of the dream must be true as well, Vegeta!"

He ran as far as he could, struggling to keep going, then collapsed. "The one who seeks the power will never have it," rang a voice in his head, "but I have given it to you as a gift Bardock, so you could see the horror of your end like we had to!"

He saw more visions of his son, he seemed happy, surrounded by friends, he was the opposite of what a Saiyans should be. 'Where am I?" He thought. "This is the future, this is what you killed my people for isn't it?" rang the voice. 'My son?' he thought. "Yes your son, he's growing up to be a powerful warrior, like his father was." replied the voice. 'Was?' Thought Bardock.

"At this time you are long since dead, you blew up with your planet." Said the voice. "No! Frieza!" He shouted.

"Take heart Bardock, a savior has been born," the voice rang proud, "one with the power to protect the innocent from monsters like Frieza… and you." The voice mocked him with a maniacal laugh.

Bardock lifted himself off the ground, "NO!" he yelled, 'I'm not going crazy, it is the future!' He thought. 'If I'm able to see the future, there might be a chance to save it!'

The other Saiyans merely laughed in reply to his claims. "Bardock gets his tail whipped and suddenly it's the end of the world!" joked one of them.

"Fools! You're all dead!" He shouted in frustration and rage. "He's on his way!" But the laughing and joking continued.

"Fine believe what you wanna believe, but I'm gonna stop him!"

He rocketed off a tall building, intending to do everything in his power to prevent Frieza's wrath, but a part of him was scared, that part knew there was little hope, so he ignored it and flew.

"Come on you cowards!" He shouted as he blasted through Frieza's lackies. They began piling onto him, attempting to hold him back.

"Frieza! Come out and fight me you coward!" He shouted defiantly.

And then he saw the little bastard levitating in mid-air, staring at him with a bemused smirk.

"No way!" he exclaimed angrily. "You've lived long enough!" He shouted, "In fact, it's been too long for my taste!"

"Frieza" He continued, "listen up, we quit, all of us, got it? We don't work for you anymore, you can find somebody else to do your dirty work for you!"

"Oh yeah, there is one last thing," he shouted as he charged one last attack. "This is for all the people we killed in your name, I wish we were never foolish enough to obey you!" And with that he released the final spirit cannon.

But Frieza's attack was bigger; It engulfed Bardock's attack, and Bardock with it. As Bardock plummeted, he found closure, he knew his son would someday finish the job…

…Sometime later he awoke on another planet. 'What?' he thought to himself as he took it all in. It was unfamiliar to him, the grass was greener, and mountains towered menacingly overhead. The trees glowed with a pale blue fluorescence against the night sky.

"WHERE AM I?" He shouted angrily, "WHY AM I NOT DEAD?" Laughter rang familiar in his head, "You see now Bardock?" it questioned, "Do you see what it is like to lose everything?" Bardock broke down, tears of frustration streamed down his face.

"But how?" He asked, to which the voice replied, "Simple enough, when you killed me I transferred my mind to your body," it continued, " little did you know, I have the power to teleport, which is triggered mentally, I used it to spare you life, but it's difficult to pull of in this state, I'm afraid I'll be leaving you now, to visit the afterlife for awhile, but I'll be back…"

"No!" shouted Bardock, "Stay, answer my question! Why have you spared me? You said I would die. The laugh echoed in his mind again, "It's not retribution, I lied because you needed to feel despair, as I felt despair, so that you could become the savior you were destined to become. Look into the future, and see the truth of my words…"

The voice disappeared. Bardock did as he said, he looked forward, and saw himself battling others like Frieza, those who had deserted Frieza in favor of becoming more like him, those who scattered after Frieza's death years from now. He knew what he had to do now, he had a mission, a goal in life.

He looked forward with eagerness.

For the next few months after the showdown with Frieza, Bardock hitched rides throughout the galaxy, working as a mechanic. He sought out planets that had been tainted by Frieza's tyranny, and fought any who stood in his way. Eventually he came to the planet Terran, which was being terrorized by an alien called Lempa, who served under one of Frieza's lieutenants, Chocalla. Chocalla's organization was the last on Bardock's list.

Lempa was a powerful warrior, of a race called the Ragus that was nearly extinct, like the Saiyans. Bardock encountered him in a bar bullying some of the regulars who were minding their own business. "That's one of Frieza's soldiers" Toolo's voice told him, he looked over at Lempa. The alien warrior had orange skin, that was covered in what looked like scar-tissue and his head was covered in what appeared to be lumps, "we should draw him away from here, somewhere there's no people."

'Say something cool' Bardock thought to himself, "Hey you!" He shouted, "Smooth" Toolo's voice said sarcastically. "Like you could do better" he countered, but Lempa had turned to face him nonetheless. "Why don't you and me go somewhere quiet and beat the crap out of each other!" he said when Lempa was facing him. "A Saiyan huh? I thought you guys were all dead," he grinned, "you must be pretty weak if Frieza spared your life, but I suppose you'd give a guy like me a minor challenge anyway, you're on, I haven't had a good throw-down in ages."

They flew out into the wasteland, and touched down. "Alright here goes!" Lempa exclaimed as he hurled a ball of crimson ki at Bardock, which he casually waved aside, "If you wanna beat me, you're gonna have to do better than that!" Bardock exclaimed. Lempa lunged, firing a flurry of blasts, Bardock was gone in a blur, now behind him. "Head's up!" he palm-thrusted, sending Lempa into a canyon nearby, and chased after him. Lempa regained his composure, then began blocking Bardock's flurry of punches and kicks.

The sinister alien began grinning, and focused his eyes on Bardock's chest. He let looses a beam of red energy that exploded on the Saiyan's chest, and sent him flying. Lempa then disappeared and reappeared behind him, and kicked him upward. In the air Bardock managed to pivot and send a beam of energy at his enemy, who was speeding toward him.

Lempa narrowly escaped being hit by flying right, then met Bardock's fist with his face. Bardock wiped blood from his mouth, "You're good, what was your name again? Y'know I don't think I've heard of you before, and I was sure I knew most of Frieza's elites"

Lempa was enraged, "My name is Lempa!" He shouted, "and I'm not an elite, I'm much better than that!" He grinned, "and I think I'd really like to test a new attack I've been developing!" He threw his arms out, and began spinning, generating a tornado of ki, that tossed Bardock backward. "Say hello to the Grand Tempest!" suddenly ki-blasts rained down on the environment, what looked like lightning shot forth from his finger-tips.

Bardock was lucky enough to dodge or deflect most of the ki-blasts, but got hit by a bolt of lightning that paralyzed him. He then took a ki-shot straight to the leg, injuring him. Fortunately the blast didn't take off his leg. Then it was over, Lempa was exhausted. "That's all you got?" Bardock taunted, "Your attack got weaker with every bit of ki you fired at me, you're drained, game over!" he lunged, and Lempa attempted to run, but Bardock had called it, he was too tired. Bardock fist pierced his battle-armor, and he fell, defeated.

"Well that was fun," Bardock spoke cheerfully, "what now?" he asked the voice in his head. "Now we seek out this one's immediate superior, while you were busy fighting, I managed to read his thoughts, his superior is named Chocalla, and he's on a planet called Herron, that Frieza used as a sort of boot camp to train soldiers." Toolo told him. "But he's supposed to arrive here in a few days to meet a soldier called Acramel who has some important data."

"Alright then," said Bardock, "we should wait for him here, although I may have to fight Acramel as well."

"Agreed," said Toolo, "but from what I gather, he may be much more difficult than the last one."

Bardock grinned, "Like that'll persuade me not to fight him!" Bardock exclaimed. Toolo laughed loudly in his head. "Yes I know, you seem to have a death-wish if you ask me!"

"Alright then, let's go find something to eat first, I'm starving damn it!" Bardock exclaimed as he flew off.

When Chocalla did arrive, Bardock found him immediately based on the information Toolo had picked out of Lempa's mind.

They were in the basement of the bar he had first seen Lempa in. Bardock sat down at the bar and ordered the strongest drink on the list, and listened into their conversation via telepathy.

He could see them now in his minds eye as he sipped his drink. Chocalla was enormous, and had midnight blue skin, spikes protruded from his head and down his arms. He wore the customary battle armor albeit with a new logo emblazoned on it. Acramel was similar, but had golden skin and lumps on his head much like Lempa's. In fact they both resembled Lempa in appearance as, though Bardock could tell they were both much stronger.

"Where's that fool Lempa anyway?" Chocalla snapped, "He was supposed to meet me, and brief me on events going on around here!"

Acramel cowered before him, "I'm sorry sir, but folks have been saying thing, there are rumors..." Chocalla's curiosity was piqued. "Rumors? what do you mean?" he asked.

"Well sir, they're saying a Saiyan survived Frieza's attack, and that he's been attacking all of Frieza's old outposts, including the ones we haven't seized yet!"

"As I expected," said Chocalla, and Acramel's fear subsided, "we must deal with this nuisance, I cannot afford to have my leadership crumble before it even begins, but first we have much more urgent business to attend to, have you located the boy?"

Acramel sighed in relief as the subject changed, "Yes sir, we found him in a village near here, he has agreed to join us and is all ready to be shipped to Herron!"

"Good," replied Chocalla, "but I don't think I'll be returning just yet, I'll be sending you and Vinalla in my stead, I'll stay here and deal with the Saiyan myself."

When Chocalla emerged, Bardock was waiting for him. "So you're looking for me right?" he asked after downing the rest of his drink and turning to face his target. "Well I'm right here, but of course we could go elsewhere and hash this out..."

But Chocalla wasn't as patient as Lempa, "To hell if I will!" He shouted as he unleashed a crimson wave of ki, killing several patrons and the bartender. "Enough of that!" Bardock shouted, as he appeared behind the fiend.

"Okay Bardock," rang Toolo's voice, "grab him!" and he did as the voice instructed. After he did so, the two of them were spirited away to the same area he and Lempa had fought.

He then proceeded to kick Chocalla's ass... literally. This sent his opponent into a nearby river, which he bombarded with ki-blasts. Chocalla however appeared behind him and tossed some ki-blasts, which he sensed, and dodged. "Bardock," said Toolo, "that last teleportation drained me, I have to go now, I can't rescue you from death again!" Bardock nodded silently, and tossed another attack at his opponent.

Chocalla hand-waved the attack. "You know..." He said in a voice of recognition, "... You remind me of a story I heard once from a guy named Zarbon, it was about how one insufferable fool stood in vain against Lord Frieza."

Bardock grinned, "Yeah, my name's Bardock, and don't get the wrong impression, you're nowhere near as powerful as Frieza was!" He sent his final spirit cannon at Chocalla, and as it was swept aside he tossed a fist in his face, "Now die!" he shouted as he appeared behind Chocalla, sending his fist through Chocalla's back. He then tossed him to the ground.

"Looks like I was right, you're unfit to wear the mantle of Frieza!"

However as Bardock flew off, Chocalla suddenly appeared ahead of him, and with a downward attack sent him into the ground below. "You do not realize what I am saiyan, I am similar in appearance to the runt you defeated before, but I am more than that, I am a combination of races created long ago, I possess not only Namekian DNA, but Saiyan DNA as well, you have only made me that much stronger!" He proclaimed.

Bardock rushed him, but Chocalla was too fast. He sent Bardock into the side of a cliff. Just then Toolo re-emerged, "I am back my friend, and I sense you're distress, we cannot defeat this one now." He said as Bardock lay beneath a pile of rubble, but Bardock's mind was spinning inside his head as Toolo once again took him from one place, and sent him to another.

However his aim was misguided, and he accidentally sent the Saiyan warrior careening head first into mountain-side, blacking out his memories temporarily.


	2. Chapter 1: Strange encounters

When Bardock awoke, he was on a planet he didn't recognize, lying in a pile of rocks that he was almost positive had once been a mountain, with little recollection as to who he was. He was completely void of his memories, and the knowledge of the various powers and techniques he had developed. He had no idea why he had a tail, or even if it was important at all. He had a name, but that was all. He was Bardock. He took little comfort in this.

He climbed out of the rubble that had once been a mountain, and learned of his incredible strength. He found he could lift the boulders and toss them, and jump a great distance, land several feet from the pile of rocks. Upon landing, he surveyed his surroundings, taking in the sights and sounds around him.

The planet seemed very desolate; void of life. When he looked around him he saw craters and strange forests. He heard the calls of unseen beasts. He felt the planet call to him.

And then his stomach began to grumble.

He spent three months living in a cave, with survival as his main priority. Day to day he gathered food, and hunted, learning which creatures were edible and which apparently were not.

His favorite were tiny blue crab-like creatures with four sets of claws that resided in a spring near his cave-dwelling. He learned how to crack their shells with rocks and cook them using a basic knowledge of how to use fire, which came to him instinctually.

He also hunted giant furry beasts with four legs and glowing red eyes, that not only tasted good, but their fur made for excellent clothing as well. He especially liked hunting these for their sheer strength, but found them to be rather scarce.

* * *

><p>After three months of living on the bizarre planet, he was eventually attacked by a feline-esque creature. It possessed six glowing green eyes, three blade-tipped tails, and luminescent blue fur covered in a shimmering carapace. It had tracked his scent to his cave dwelling. It somehow seemed familiar to him, yet still foreign , 'where have I seen this thing before?' he thought to himself.<p>

It sniffed at the air, making sure there were no others around to keep it from it's meal. Bardock felt fear creep through him, and then a swell of pride that threatened to bring all his memories reeling back to him.

And then it roared, with a sound akin to an explosion of shattering glass combined with a secondary high-pitched shriek.

It lunged, shifting in form, becoming a beautiful woman mid-air, with luminescent blue hair, dagger sharp claws poised to rip his flesh, all three tails in tact and two fierce glowing green eyes. Her carapace had rearranged itself to become a natural armor that protected certain… areas. Around her neck was a collar, that the Saiyan hadn't noticed on her bestial form.

Bardock's instincts took over, and he produced a ball of shining light. He suddenly tossed it, as if he had done it so many times before.

But it wasn't as strong as it could be he knew; It was an attack made put of desperation, not with a level head.

The ball of light connected with the woman's left shoulder, exploding and sending her backward, into a cave-wall, shattering it much like he had upon arrival to this planet.

Bardock ran for the entrance, and one he was outside, standing on the cliff he had climbed so many times before, he leapt, landing as far away as he could get, he turned and charged an attack.

The woman was abnormally quick, loping gracefully toward him on all fours, much like the beast she had been before. A beam of neon-green light spewed forth from her mouth, toward the lower-class Saiyan.

He dodged it, tossing his own attack, but she was too quick. The blast connected with the cliffs behind her. And then she was behind him.

She shredded his back, cutting through the armor he still wore. The resulting cuts weren't too bad, but he had been taken by surprise.

He felt that pride swell up again, and knew he couldn't let her win. And then a voice rang in his head.

"Run Bardock." It said.

"How do you know my name!" He replied "And why can't I see you?"

"There's no time to explain just now," the voice said calmly, as if it were trying to reassure Bardock, "I'll explain later, but you can't win this one, she's not like most fighters, I can't seem to read her thoughts, and I highly doubt you could either."

The voice was familiar, it was a voice he trusted, so he ran.

He saw a narrow cliff ahead of him. It was a cliff he often climbed in order to pluck fruits from a tall tree. Without thinking he ran, pushing off from the ground he rocketed gracefully upward, though the landing didn't go quite as smoothly.

He landed head-first, and blacked out. As he lay unconscious, he started to recall his lost memories. He remembered Tora, Borga, Shugesh, and Fasha. They were the closest thing to a family he had known, and they were all gone.

* * *

><p>He remembered Frieza now, and the last stand that should have killed him. He was truly alone now and that was worse than not remembering.<p>

But as he pushed himself up off the ground, he heard several loud noises surrounding him, there was no time to reflect on his horrible past now. When he was finally upright he looked around.

He was surrounded by several figures, tall ones and short ones. Many were cloaked in various colors, others wore battle armor similar in design to the kind Frieza's army and the Saiyan's had worn.

Some held weapons ranging from crude cudgels to highly sophisticated plasma rifles. The latter of course were mainly held by the armored ones.

"Sir, he looks like one of us," one of them, draped in a red and black tattered cloak said, "Should we kill him?"

"Yes, I think we should," said another, this one was a woman in a fluorescent blue cloak, "If he is one of us, a Saiyan, he may have been sent to conquer this planet, or worse, to bring us back."

"What should we do sir?" another woman's voice asked, wrought with fear, addressing a man in a cloak of brown and grassy green.

Bardock's hands went up. "Excuse me, but I'm not here to… the planet Vegeta was destroyed, how can you be Saiyans like myself?"

Voices buzzed, debating the truth of his words. "Tell me then, why are you here?" asked the leader.

"I don't know, " replied Bardock, "but there's a… _thing_ out there, it turned into a woman… it, or _she_ was chasing me."

"No worries," said the man in the brown and green cloak, as if addressing everyone including Bardock, "The cat-woman has been chased off by our best warriors, but I must ask you young man, what was that about Vegeta being destroyed?"

Bardock struggled to gather his thoughts.

"My memory's a little fuzzy right now, but it's true, Frieza destroyed it, I was the only one to stand up to him, but I failed, and I've been trying to make amends for my stupidity in the past while serving him."

The man in the brown-green cloak stared at him in disbelief under his hood. Bardock could see wrinkled features, and a bushy whit beard. "You stood up to the tyrant you say?"

Bardock nodded.

"So then what the voice told me is correct, you are an outcast of the Saiyan race like the rest of us, you're name is Bardock."

Bardock was startled by the mention of "The voice".

"Yeah I'm Bardock alright, but what voice do you mean?" The old man grinned, "Oh you know right? He said he was your friend after all.

"I spoke to this man while you fought the cat-woman." Toolo stated. "I didn't have a lot of time, and I couldn't reach him after you blacked out."

"So then you are an outcast of the saiyan race, are you not?" another man asked. He was one of the few who wasn't wearing a cloak, and he was taller than most Saiyans with short hair and a goatee. He had several scars on his face and arms. He wore armor with dark blue trim. Bardock noticed that he, as well as the rest of the armored Saiyans had no tail.

"Pretty much," Bardock replied, "It's not as if there's anyone else to take orders from anyway." He folded his arms.

"So what now? You guys gonna kill me or what?" He demanded.

The old man grinned again. "Oh no, there'll be none of that, I think instead we'll offer you a choice."

Bardock regarded the man warily. "Just what kinda choice are you offering geezer?" To which the old man gave a wry smirk."As you may have noticed by now, all our warriors are without tails, yes?" replied the old man, "there's a reason for that, we've all abandoned our tails."

Bardock began to understand where the old guy was coming from.

"So the choice is simple: Give up your tail and come live with us, or keep it and go far away, but before you make your decision I'd like you to consider something else."

"Consider what?" Asked Bardock.

"We've found that without our tails we are able to achieve the legendary power, everyone here is what the legends would call a Super Saiyan."

Bardock stared in disbelief. "Y-you can't be serious?" He was at a loss for words. "You're joking, I take it."

"Oh no, I'm dead serious," replied the old man, "Svinich, would you mind?" He questioned the tall man with the blue armor. The man simply nodded.

He then took a stance, focusing, and releasing a golden aura. His black hair turned golden, and his eyes turned blue.

"Apparently the tail prevents such a transformation," Said the old man, "After learning this, our elders taught the young their secrets, and it is passed down generation to generation. We would like to teach you if you willing to learn, but you must first let us remove your tail."

Bardock shifted uncomfortably. Of course it would be advantageous to take the offer, and become a Super Saiyan, but he remembered the transformation to Oozaru. It was a form he enjoyed back then, but it was limited to full moons, and on top of that it was a part of the life he wanted to leave behind. Somehow removing his tail had never occurred to him though. He had regarded it as part of who he was, but now he knew he should get rid of it.

Finally he decided. He nodded and said: "Alright, I'll go with you and let you remove my tail, as long as you teach me to become a Super Saiyan. But I have business to attend to, that woman was in league with another, I'm still in the process of remembering the specifics, but I've got unfinished business with him."

The old man gave a soft smile. Some f the robed Saiyans were clearly unsure of whether this was a good idea. Some were pretty vocal in their dislike of this idea.

"You've got to be daft old man, this one'll kill us like dogs, I don't like him one bit!" Snapped an unpleasant old lady who had removed her hood. She wore a muddy brown cloak.

"You're mistaken Turna, this one's different, he's seen things we can't even imagine," Chided the old man, "not to mention he seems hell-bent on ridding the universe of a threat that if left unchecked could become the next Frieza. His intentions are good, if indeed he has done bad things in his past."

"Bad things huh? Toolo tell you that?" Bardock said. The old man nodded.

"That's the past now old man, just one thing I wanna know now and that's who the hell you are." Bardock stated.

"Name's Gin, I'll make sure you're introduced to everyone else later, for now let's just get you back to the village."

Bardock nodded and followed the outcasts as they flew off toward their village.


	3. Chapter 2: The blades that shimmer

Vinalla's collar felt tighter as she stood before her master. She had failed to capture the Saiyan, and she couldn't lie to him if her life depended on it.

He looked down at her, with narrowed eyes, that glowed with intensity in the dark cavern he resided in. Most beings on the planet wouldn't be able to see much more than six glowing green eyes where she stood. He was one of the few who could.

"I see you've been wounded," he said in a sympathetic tone, "if you want I can ease the pain." He was offering to take the pain into himself, she wouldn't allow it. Besides it wouldn't be there much longer.

"No," she told him telepathically through the bond they shared, "I'll be fine, it's healing already." Acramel's face had been tense as he examined the burn mark on her left front leg. His expression became softer now.

"Ah yes, I do tend to forget sometimes how incredibly extraordinary you are my pet!" He exclaimed with joy, "So tell me did you do it? Did you kill the nasty little rat?"

Her expression turned sour as she spat out telepathically: "No master, I could not," Her mental voice was strained with displeasure at herself, "I'm afraid there were others, they were too strong. I believe they killed him though, as I could not. He was too quick, but I assure you he was not too powerful himself. I could have killed him had they not stopped me."

At first Acramel's face seemed uncharacteristically angry, and Vinalla was afraid he would strike her. However she was proven wrong by the images that flashed inside his mind. He was angry at the mental image of her being hurt; She was his pet after all. As she could tell, he was pondering whether or not it might be necessary for him to pay them a visit and teach them not to damage his _property_. She fought hard to suppress the disgust she felt when that thought entered his mind. Fortunately he was too distracted to notice it anyway.

But he decided against attacking them; _**his**_ master wouldn't approve. "As long as the Saiyan no longer poses a threat, my dear, I'm inclined to believe that your mission was a success." Acramel said as he scratched behind her right ear, causing her to purr with pleasure.

"And even if he is still alive, if he's as weak as you say we should have nothing to fear, I'll speak to Chocalla and inform him of the situation, we'll most likely send Jella to make sure in a few weeks time, meanwhile we need to concentrate on the plan, the boy must be trained."

* * *

><p>It took some time for Bardock to get used to living without a tail, but it wasn't nearly as difficult as Svinich's training regimen.<p>

After a week of training with Svinich and his brother Zaziphraz as his sparring partner's, during which Bardock had come within two inches of death on a daily basis, he still had not achieved status as a Super Saiyan. On the other hand he wasgrowing significantly stronger.

"The trick is to need it Bardock," Svinich often lectured him before, during, and after thoroughly kicking his ass, "merely wanting it is not enough!"

But somehow Bardock failed every time, day after day. He wanted it bad, but he was unsure of his own need for it. He had needed it once before he thought, but even then it hadn't come to him. He thought he knew now why it hadn't, but even after removing his tail, he couldn't do it.

"Perhaps it has something to do with my presence," Toolo had suggested after a few days of training, "Surely you would be fine without me, if only I could remove myself."

Bardock shrugged, "Beats me. Doubt that's the reason though, maybe I just need to be more powerful, after all I am pretty pathetic in comparison to Svinich and Zaziphraz at the moment."

"You say that like you're going to surpass us any day now Bardock." Zaziphraz said with a bemused grin.

"It's possible," Bardock replied smugly.

"Top dogs have to fight to stay on top," Svinich said as he approached his student, "we never give the position away so easily. Without warning he sent a punch at Bardock's face. After a week of training Bardock's instinct told him when to dodge and when to block. It decided on the latter.

* * *

><p>Most of the village had warmed up to Bardock after a week or so. He had begun working part-time as a guardsman with Svinich and Zaziphraz. The guardsmen had two separate units, both answering to Svinich. His deputies Zaziphraz and Tomita managed the "nightwatchmen" and "enforcers" respectively. Bardock found work with either unit from time to time, depending on how rigorously that day's training was, and how wounded it had made him.<p>

As it turned out, despite the attempt at being more civilized and peaceful than the average Saiyans, some of the villagers tended to get out of hand from time to time after a little too much to drink. Bardock wasn't too enthusiastic about being a glorified bouncer, but he did enjoy the opportunity to bash some skulls every now and then.

Of course there were a few outside threats from time to time, and Bardock's usefulness in dealing with these threats ultimately led to his acceptance in the village. In the past he learned, the village had been attacked by a band of space pirates. There were amphibious creatures inhabiting the nearby lakes as well, that while mostly peaceful churned out an occasional bad-egg.

And then there were the Serrated; Blade-carrying bandits that lived beneath the planet's surface. They were blind, but their empathic abilities allowed them to hunt efficiently and they were nocturnal, making them proper nightmare fuel for some races, but the Saiyans were too proud for that. They took turns standing watch, with Bardock taking the same shift as Svinich and Zaziphraz.

During Bardock's first week with the village, he hadn't seen any of them, but heard tales from Gin and some of the other elders who had taken a liking to him. A week and two days after settling in at the village he had the fortune to face the serrated himself.

The raid began sometime around midnight or early morning. Bardock wasn't bleeding profusely or suffering from a concussion, so he decided to stand watch. Svinich, who alternated between enforcer and nightwatchmen every other night, had decided to join them as well.

Bardock and Zaziphraz were perched on the southern wall with two other guards. The walls themselves had been crated from stone to keep the Serrated from entering the village before the guardsmen could kill fight them off.

One of the guards, Cob was well-renowned for his ability to divine the Serrated's attacks. Actually he was able to divine many other dangers as well, but the ability to foresee an attack from one of the Saiyans' most hated and feared enemies had made him rather popular, especially with the women.

Cob gave a whistle five minutes before the attack. He was also the first Saiyan to enter the fray. "Okay, look alive guys," Zaziphraz said as he leapt off the wall in order to follow Cob's example.

Though he had heard the stories, they were still greatly intimidating. They didn't rely on ki-based attacks, but instead on tight-knit groups that were well-trained and had considerable skill with the blades which gave them their name, which they wielded in each hand, though he noticed that the females generally had four arms, with a blade in each. They also had midnight-blue skin, which made them hard to see at night, but their shimmering blades gave them away. They seemed to be made of an extraordinary substance Bardock had never seen before. These swords could cut through stone and flesh with similar ease, and deflect ki.

Bardock had never faced opponents like these.

The night sky lit up as the Saiyans rained luminescent death upon their foes. The Serrated had fought the Saiyans too often to come unprepared though. They were quick, lightning fast reflexes made them hard to hit, and they had abnormally powerful leg muscles.

Though they could not fly themselves, the Serrated leapt higher than most race without the gift of flight. a small group of them rocketed upward, tearing three or four Saiyans from the sky. A shower of blood rained over the battle below. Bardock's fellow guardsmen approached the battle with caution, tossing ki at their opponent, and hoping they wouldn't be sent back. Bardock wasn't the type to worry about that kind of stuff.

He darted at them head-on, without even bothering to use his ki. He tried to focus on the males. The pros like Svinich and Zaziphraz knew how to handle the women, but Bardock hadn't fought to many four-handers in his time let alone four-handers wielding four razor-sharp blades at uncanny speeds.

With great difficulty, he managed to kill two males with his bare-hands; One with a wrist-grab and a hand through the chest, and another with a broken neck from behind. In doing so he sustained at least eight or nine cuts that would result in scars.

He saw Zaziphraz kill about a dozen with a volley of ki-blasts from above, only to be taken down by a flying blade that pierced his left leg, causing him to plummet.

Cob caught the falling Zaziphraz mid-air, and flew him to the village. Bardock couldn't see Svinich now, but he felt him elsewhere far from the village, and knew he was racking up a hefty kill-count.

After killing another male, Bardock faced off against one of the females that he had noticed somehow managed to scale the wall. She wore a scarlett gown and silver bracers, with a circlet on her head.

The fight was brutal. He lunged at her from the ground, tossing a large ki-cannon at her, witch she deflected with ease using all four blades. He then reappeared behind her, tossing a ki-blast into her back. It didn't do much good. She swung the her right swords in conjunction, and her left swords were no different. Bardock sent a great deal of time dodging her attacks, trying to keep his footing. He managed to disarm her bottom left arm with a burst of ki, but took a minor cut to the left side of his stomach. Her sword fell onto the battle-field outside the wall.

Then he got lucky and found a way to get behind her after tossing a ball of ki at her head. She moved her head to the right to avoid the blast, but he arced over her, and deflected his own attack, which conveniently hit another Serrated, though he doubted it was a fatal blow.

He sent a volley of punches at her back now, which turned out to be similar to an average human being punching a tree as hard as they can. It hurt like hell.

She turned to face him, a wicked grin on her face as he howled in pain. Without a word she swung her right-hand swords, but his instincts told him to fly backward, as fast as possible. He did. He collided with another Saiyan.

The Saiyan he bumped into was named Aregano. He was an elderly farmer, who rarely fought. This night he decided to fight for two reasons. Number one: he couldn't sleep. Number two: He was extremely bored.

Bardock hadn't spoken to Aregano before this night, but had seen him before when he joined Svinich and Zaziphraz in a memorable training session three nights before the attack.

Like the Serrated Aregano was blind too, but could sense his foes' ki.

Aregano was a beast in close-ranged battles as Bardock knew from personal experience. He defeated Bardock a hundred and eighty two times in close-range combat in one day. Bardock had only managed to defeat him by getting some distance between them and sending a volley of ki-blasts in every directions to confuse him.

"Hey kid, how goes the battle?" Aregano greeted him after they regained their footing, casually dismissing the fact that Bardock had collided into him of his own accord.

"Probably pretty tame for you guys I suppose," He replied, "but I've never fought these kinds of enemies before, I'm managing, but it's hard to get used to." He grabbed the female Serrated's left wrist as it came down at him, and blasted her upper-right, tearing it from her body. She let out an ear-shattering shriek and dropped her swords. She then broke his grasp and fled.

"Yeah, it' pretty brutal at first, but many of our young 'uns reach their Super form during combat with these things Y'know!" Aregano exclaimed with excitement as he tore off the arms of a male Serrated that had gotten too close, "just try to focus on the males, and you'll do fine!"

"That's the thing old man, I got a female here that's kicking my ass!" He couldn't see Aregano's mischievous smile, but heard the excitement in his voice. "Well tah's no problem kid, I'll go see what I can do to keep her busy, you devise some kind of plan!" And he took off to face the feamle serrated.

Bardock thought of his options. She was immune to ki-blasts, unlike most of the males, and some of the females. He couldn't punch her either, that would just hurt his hands. He tried his telepathy, but it didn't pan out. For some reason he only got static. He decided there was only one more thing he could try: Her own sword.

* * *

><p>Aregano usually fought hard, favoring kick over punches, and trying to avoid ki-blasts when he was too far from his opponent. however, he spent most of his "fight" with the female dancing around like a buffoon shouting things like "Over here sweetcakes!" and "What's the matter? cant't hit a helpless old man?" and smacking his own ass suggestively.<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay old man," Bardock told Aregano telepathically, "I've got an idea, I'm coming in from the right, stay clear!"<p>

And then he struck, cleaving her lower left hand clear off. She howled on pain, knocking Bardock into Aregano, and fleeing.

The Serrated were diminishing in number now, and many fled. Bardock knew though, as the elders had taught him, that they would be back within a month, in greater number. They bred like crazy they said.

Overall, the Saiyans had lost around eight or nine soldiers. They were buried shortly after the battle, as soon as the surviving soldiers regrouped. Afterward, they all headed inside the wall to take rest and get some breakfast.

"That was one hell of a fight," Svinich said as he clasped Bardock on the shoulder, "Times like these that make life around here less boring!" he exclaimed.

"You're damned straight," Cob replied as he returned from the village to join his comrades, "only got six or seven in total before Zazi's accidednt though wish I coulda done more damage."

"But it's a good thing you didn't kid," Aregano chided as he sat atop the wall with his feet dangling off the edge, "Zazi's one of the best, the village needs him just as much as it needs you." He smiled serenely, "and besides any fights worth fightin' when fightin' ain't been done in too long I'll tell you what!"

Cob grinned smugly, "Yeah I guess I did good then, but why did they run? Sun ain't about to come up yet is it?" Aregano shook his head vigorously, "nope" he said simply.

"They fled," Svinich replied, "because Bardock wounded their queen."

Bardock was dumbfounded at the revelation.


	4. Chapter 3: Changes

There wasn't much action to be had in the days following the Serrated's attack. Bardock's training had been amped up to eleven when Tomita joined in on the fun.

Tomita was the strongest warrior in the village, with Svinich a notch below her and Zaziphraz behind him. Though she just barely eclipsed Svinich in power, she had to constantly stay one step ahead of him. In the earlier years as he told Bardock, he had been annoyed by her ability to do so. After a while, he just came to except it, finding it strangely attractive.

Bardock didn't share that opinion.

Svinich, who tended to pull punches from time to time if he felt it necessary. Tomita never found it necessary.

She beat him thoroughly, and then some. Svinich had decided not to sit in on these sessions, as he felt he would be obligated to help his student out of fear for his life, and that would probably cause Tomita to kill him, and beat Bardock even harder.

"If you don't achieve Super Saiyan by the time I'm done with you," she said shortly before the first session of beatings… I mean training, "then it's likely you probably never will." She then gave a creepy smile, and struck hard, and fast.

Though he felt closer with every day, he still hadn't achieved it. He was getting considerably more powerful though, being almost on par with Zaziphraz.

* * *

><p>Three pods departed from Chocalla's citadel on a planet called Turrin, whose people were forced below the surface after Chocalla's invasion.<p>

In these pods rode three of Chocalla's elites, a three man unit led by one of Chocalla's three current generals (Being the last remaining members of the Ragus who weren't considered Acramel's pet). Of the Ragus Jella was the last remaining "Amorphite", a sub-species of the Ragus made of a gelatinous substance, who chose his current form.

The other two members of his team were from another planet, that Acramel had destroyed several years beforehand, a race called the Skarrim, who could move objects with their mind. They wore full body suits, which kept them shrouded in mystery.

* * *

><p>Downtime for Bardock was scarce. Not that he minded the constant work schedule; In fact he insisted on it. But every now and then downtime was forced on him by Gin.<p>

At first it had irritated the younger Saiyan. After a while though, he came to enjoy the stories Gin told. They were mostly stories about the rebellion that brought him and his comrades to the new planet so long ago. He refused to tell the stories from when he was a member of the Saiyan army though, and Bardock understood why. When asked the elderly Saiyan's eyes would go dark. Bardock chose not to read his mind, as he had come to respect Gin far too much.

One day he and Gin flew out to the wastelands with a few of the other Saiyans. It was Gin's granddaughter Junipa's first flight. They were accompanied by Aregano, Svinich, Cob, the local school-teacher Celera, and a few of her students.

That was the day he told them the story of how he received his name.

"I'll bet you've all noticed by now that my name isn't a traditional Saiyan name," he said smiling, "well Ive decided to tell you all why." He spoke as if none of them had heard this story, although in actuality only Bardock and some of the students hadn't Svinich and Zaziphraz had heard it as children and passed it onto their children. Celera had heard it from him when she was younger, around Junipa's age.

"You see I used to be called Aspargus, before I came to this planet, but I had wanted to leave that personality behind and decided to label myself Blank, though I must admit it was only meant to be a place-holder."

"I find this particular story rather engaging," said the voice in Bardock's head, "but it's ending is somewhat sad."

"You've heard it before?" Bardock said, to which the voice replied, "Of course not, I saw it happen, the old man allowed me inside his head for a while, where do you think I've been lately?"

Bardock grinned, "You really like this guy don't you?"

"He's different from most Saiyans, even the ones on this planet, he adapted to the new ways much easier, he hasn't fought in fifty years."

Bardock understood Toolo's fascination.

"But on the voyage with my old crew to find a new planet for Saiyans who wished to be free of Frieza's tyranny," Gin said, continuing his story, "we ran into trouble with pirates, in later years members of that particular crew sought our planet out in revenge, but at the time they seemed a mere obstacle."

"They captured some of my crew, and killed a few others, and my friend Turna and I were the only ones to escape them, but I knew we had to return to rescue our friends.," he grinned a small grin, "Turna being Turna, ever the voice of reason, disagreed with me." Some of the younger Saiyans chuckled at this sentiment.

Turna and Gin never agreed, Bardock had once heard a story where Turna claimed the Serrated were harmless beasts due to the fact Gin had assessed otherwise, having come to the theory that they were much more intelligent. Turna still referred to them as "Dumb beasts".

"Well I set off in my own pod alone to rescue my friends, back then I was much more prone to irrational thoughts, rushing head-first into any situation that seemed like it would be sufficiently dangerous." He gave a slight smile, it was clear that he was recalling another unrelated memory. But he snapped out of it rather quickly.

"Of course," he said, "I was wrong to rush in head-first, almost got captured myself, and would have if they hadn't all been sleeping when I snuck onto their ship,"

"The intruder alarm woke them, but they were all pretty tired, and I was able to hide, my pod was floating about in space by now, as I had flown to the ship holding my breath, and they probably just assumed that one of the pods they had taken from one of my captured friends had gotten loose and was now drifting in space, I'm not exactly sure of the details, but I still wonder to this day why they didn't think to count the number of pods and Saiyans they had."

"To the shorten this story a bit, I'll gloss over the days I spent disguising myself as one of them, which I'm still amazed that I was able to do, because although these pirates wore full body suits and helmets that obscured the face, it seemed rather odd that one of their members was the exact height, size, and weight as myself, not to mention how perfectly my head fit the helmet."

"But one of them knew I wasn't a member, and what's more, he didn't care, we became fast friends."

"He helped me find my friends and escape, but the leader, a fellow named Tonic discovered our little plan."

"My fellow crewmembers got to safety as My new friend and I faced Tonic," Gin's voice got more serious, "We put up a good fight, but this guy could… move things, he's the one who severed my tail."

"He revealed my friend's face, by taking off his helmet using his powers, and as it turned out their helmets served a purpose, they could not breathe without them. I still remember the look on his face…" Gin edited this part considerably, and there was sorrow in his voice.

"However, I could tell he wanted me to go on, and I did so, defeating the leader of the pirates with my newfound power, that was the day I became a Super Saiyan."

"I'm still not certain whether I managed to kill the leader however, but I do recall him being sent into space."

Sometime after Turna arrived to find me among the bodies of any crew members who chose to fight me rather than flee. It turned out she couldn't stand the thought of me dying alone."

"At the time I thought maybe she had been too late, as I felt fairly dead inside, but I got over it, I knew my friend would find peace. In his honor I named myself Gin, which was his name. I suppose there was no need to hold that information, but I still do so in the hopes that any of you hearing the story for the first time will keep wondering."

He then smiled, "But the story ends fairly happily, because as it turned out the pirates who fled stole our pods and we had to stay on their ship, which was on course to this very planet, and we couldn't figure out their computers, which were far beyond our own technology. We crash-landed here, there were only nine of us then, but we sent people back to Vegeta to find more. Although there have been hard times, it seems this planet is perfect for us."

The rest of the trip consisted of eating and fighting. Aregano sparred with Celera and Cob at the same time. He won, albeit very narrowly.

Bardock contemplated Gin's story. He figured the reason he hadn't transformed yet was because he hadn't lost anyone that important to him. If only he had known sooner, if only he had achieved Super Saiyan back then, before his friends had died. Even their memory hadn't helped. He tried to push the thought out of his mind. It was time to relax and leave the worrying for later.

* * *

><p>As the day led up to Jella's attack, Bardock found himself eclipsing Zaziphraz, and catching up to Svinich, with Zaziphraz constantly training to become better than him. Toolo's presence lessened inside Bardock's mind as well. He knew that their bond was weakening. Bardock didn't need Toolo as much now as he did before, and the disembodied Kanassan was spending time with Gin. The two were kindred souls, and got along extremely well.<p>

Bardock sensed a change in the way things were. He was getting used to the peaceful existence now. He felt like he could settle down, and stop fighting, that someone else would rise up and stop Chocalla.

And the Jella arrived.


	5. Chapter 4: Casualties

The village wasn't the first to be hit. Cob, Zaziphraz, and Aregano had gone off to train somewhere a few miles out. Bardock was busy getting patched up by Celera and Turna after a rough training session with Tomita, (The latter only agreed, because she didn't trust the Saiyan to be alone with Celera). Svinich was off taking a nap, and Tomita was enjoying some much needed R&R at the local pub.

The enemy unit happened across Aregano and his friends first.

Jella's first target was Aregano., but Zaziphraz pushed him out of the way. Aregano was tough for an old man, so he didn't mind so much, but Zaziphraz took a lot of damage. Cob rushed the Gelatinous monster, and was promptly impaled as it morphed it's right arm into a sickle-shape, and tossed aside.

At fiirst Aregano believed his time was up; That death would finally claim him. He went super Saiyan, and put as much into what he thought could be be his final attack. The blast tore through Jella, and then one of it's lackies. In a split second decision Aregano fled. He was never proud of that moment when he reflected on it in later days, but rested easy knowing how many lives it saved.

* * *

><p>Jella followed, with his henchman right behind him. Tomita was the first to see them, as she left the bar. She was quick to strike, throwing a barrage of ki that knocked the other lackey out of the air.<p>

But Jella was different; it couldn't be hurt like normal beings. At close-range she noticed a purplish sphere among the blue matter that was Jella's body. She figured it was the monster's weakness, but it was impossible to hit as it kept moving around. It's hands became blades, slicing at her in a flurry of cuts and thrusts, tearing her armor apart. But she refused to surrender, and dodged what she could. When she was finally able to distance herself, she fired a large ki-cannon, destroying the head, which grew back. Each time she blasted a part off, it would grow back or re-attach itself.

And then she cut it with a ki-blade. And then there were two. They were smaller than the original, and it had slipped out of it's armor, but just as she had feared it had multiplied.

Somehow one got behind her, and chopped at her left leg, tearing the muscled, and causing her to fall to the ground.

A ki-blast from out of the blue knocked the monster away from her. It was Celera, followed by Turna and a wounded Bardock, who had received a message from Toolo about the situation

* * *

><p>Thorza, the queen of the serrated stood up from her throne. The messenger Bardul kneeled before her. In the native language of the Serrated he spoke, "MY queen, the enemies, they are under attack, should we wait until they are all dead, or go through with the plan?"<p>

Bardul was not his real name, for he was not really a serrated, but a child she had raised. He had been separated form his mother at birth, and she had adopted him. He was the perfect spy.

"We will attack," she replied, "the opportunity is even better now, as they will be busy, and we can ambush them." She had been planning for days, maybe weeks, as she had lost track of the time. She knew the Saiyans wouldn't expect a daytime attack, and had always intended to execute one when the time was right, and wipe them out for good.

But things had gotten to personal, and there were two options now, the Saiyan who wounded her would be hers, or die. There would be no exceptions to the laws of the Serrated.

Her old king was dead now; He was a remnant of the past, whose time was up and as such she would have killed him herself if the enemies hadn't done it before now.

She recalled the enemy's name, the one who wounded her. She would find Bardock, and he would be hers at last.

* * *

><p>Bardock had never seen Celera or Turna fight before. He knew that Turna had military training in the past, but Celera was a school-teacher and sometimes doctor. But there she was, dodging the Jellas, deflecting their attacks. They had begun using ki now, with an occasion axe-shaped limb or extended needle-arm.<p>

Bardock leapt into action beside Turna, saving her life as a Jella tossed a goo-bullet at her. He then rushed it, inadvertently tossing it into the side of the pub, where it made a large "SPLAT!" noise. The patrons rushed outside to watch the fight.

"Don't think this changes a thing you little bastard I still hate you…" Turna said, but her words weren't as harsh this time, "but I'll admit, you're much more favorable than this… thing!"

And the goo-bullet returned to the Jella it came from, tearing through the poor woman's shoulder, and Bardock was helpless to stop it. He felt his power surge. His aura was increasing. He unleashed a blast that engulfed the monster, and obliterated half the pub.

But the other one got him with a blunt-force punch to the back of his head, and would have delivered a final blow if not for the queen's strike.

Thorza had to protect the Saiyan now, it was the law. He was her responsibility until the choice was made whether he would die or not.

She decapitated the Jella not knowing that it would come back. But she was quick-minded and side-stepped it's counter. As she tangled with the Jella, her warriors attacked the village.

All hell broke loose. Svinich woke from his nap to utter Chaos just Jella's lackey decided to come-to as well. By this time Aregano had alerted the guards, and they came joined in too. Celera had taken Tomita and Turna off to treat their wounds, and ordered some of her fellow medics to fly off to get Cob and Zaziphraz with Aregano.

Svinich's fight with the lackey was short-lived, as the lackey simply tossed some rubble at him, before a Serrated cut him in half. Aregano then rushed the Serrated, tearing him apart piece by piece.

Bardock stepped in to help the queen. He noticed the way she looked at him. She was concerned, though he was unsure why, and assumed it was fear. But he mistakenly believed it to be fear for her life. He could not have grasped how wrong he was.

But he noticed something strange. Every attack the Jella sent at him, she deflected, or stepped in front of. It's attacks couldn't pierce her, so he figured that her reasoning was that for now, Bardock was an ally.

But then again her warriors were attacking the village.

"Why are you here?" He said, as she deflected one more attack.

"Village will pay for brothers and sisters lost!" she replied, as Bardock sent a ki-blast at the Jella, "And I will have my prize!"

She kicked Jella, tossing it away momentarily, and turning, resting her blade at Bardock's throat. "You are my prize, the law says."

Recognition dawned on him. She had been protecting him, because she believed she had to. She was here for him, and would not leave until he went with her.

"But why?" He said. "Because law says, you hurt me, and you are to be my prize, you are strong enough."

It was oddly flattering.

"Well that may be, but your men are attacking my friends, call them off and we'll talk."

"Warriors may not obey, think I am crazy for wanting scum!" He couldn't believe he felt sympathy for her.

Long time ago, king come to village, never come back, told us he was to negotiate, but Saiyan kill him!" Jella made another attack, but it mistakenly went for the queen, and it's attack was useless.

"King Frey was his name yes?" came a voice from behind. It was Gin, who sent an attack at Jella, tossing it backward, and reducing it's size.

"That guy's own men betrayed him, the night of our negotiation, they didn't want us to co-exist, and we were unprepared, so we couldn't kill them. Chances are they're still around, seeking to usurp your throne."

"Impossible, lie, Saiyans are evil!" She tossed one of her three swords at him, but he side-stepped and would-be attacker was hit instead. Thorza had inadvertently committed the greatest treason for a Serrated. She had killed her own kind without justification.

"Traitor!" roared a voice from nearby, speaking the tongue of the serrated. "The queen is In league with the Saiyans, this explains her son Bardul!"

"I am not a traitor," she said, "it was a mistake!" but the warrior attacked, she realized now that he was one of the soldiers that had accompanied her king.

"The Saiyans, do they speak the truth? Are you a traitor to the king?"

"I am no traitor, as you are, and the king was, and the warriors will follow me now that your treason is known. You will be executed.

Bardock stepped in, blasting the Serrated warrior, and grabbing one of the queen's swords from her hand as she stood staring in awe. He thrust the sword into the warrior's neck. The warrior fell to the ground choking for air.

Bardock was starting to feel to wounds from his training session with Tomita now. He keeled over.

The tiny Jella rushed him, but Gin tossed a ki-blast powerful enough to destroy it completely. But Gin didn't see the attacker to his side, and Toolo's voice was too late, as he had been occupied with watching the entire battle..

The Serrated skewered one of Bardock's best friends. The man who had taken him in. Who had defended him since the very beginning.

This time there was no mistaking it, he was changing. He let out a huge scream as golden energy burst forth, and hair rising, and changing it's color. He was a Super Saiyan now. The Serrated had a split second to consider the consequences before he lost his head.

A pile of bodies surrounded him when all was said and done. Svinich would have congratulated him had it not been for the occasion.

Toolo's voice rang in his head, it was full of sorrow. "Looks like we say goodbye now Bardock."

Tears poured down Bardock's chin, and he nodded, "You saw this didn't you, I hadn't bothered to check, because I didn't care, but along you had re-attached yourself, and you knew!"

"Yes, I knew, and I also knew it couldn't be undone, and so I decided it was time for me… to… go.. Farewell." The farewell wasn't just Toolo's though, it came from gin, who went out with a smile. Bardock felt it too, Toolo had shown the old man the future, so he could die happy.

The battle was over now. Cob and Zaziphraz would survive, as would Turna, but they'd be off their feet for a while.

Tomita would take a while to heal as well, but not as long. However, she was very frustrated that she couldn't train during that time. To cheer her up, Svinich promised not to train too much either.

"Now that Bardock's gone super, I won't be needed as much, and Celera will replace you until you're better, so it'll all work out," he reassured her, "and meanwhile I'll be sure to visit every day in case you need something."

Bardock was on good terms with the queen now as well, and promised to visit her each day, so they could talk and get to know each other. He would see what he could do to prevent more bloodshed then. The remaining Serrated were few in number after the battle, and it was likely that they would need each other. Thorza's "son" would become the ambassador in the meantime. However, before Bardock could worry about any of that, he needed to settle the Chocalla business once and for all. He wouldn't give him another chance to attack them unexpectedly.


	6. Chapter 5: Emotional Hurricane

Acramel hated disturbing his master's "activities", but nonetheless felt it was his duty to inform him of the recent news. He had never seen the things his master did, he only heard the noises. He knew that the soldiers he used during these occasions fell silent in his presence, and flinched at the slightest movement. He made sure to ring the buzzer, so he wouldn't have to find out firsthand. As he expected, his master wasn't pleased.

Chocalla sat silent, on a throne of rare metals from exotic planets. He wore a black robe, his head perched on his left fist. Acramel found this pose a tad clichéd as he had seen it so often in modern theatre and holo-discs.

"Sire it has come to my attention," he kept his eyes to the ground and fought the urge to stammer, "or rather I should say, one of the surveillance bugs has shown images of the saiyan, it would appear he has… ascended."

As he had expected his master didn't take the news too well :We can't risk the possibility of this saiyan attempting to sabotage us," Chocalla growled, "I've almost completed my plan, we've got the perfect specimens..." He shifted his weight.

"However, I'm still hardly convinced he's a real threat, and in fact I almost look forward to his visit, if it's any longer than our last meeting, I'm sure it'll be decent entertainment." A crooked grin came over his face.

"But sir, it has come to my attention that… well there's an entire planet of them, a majority of them have achieved the ascended form, and he's one of the lesser threats at this moment, not to mention they're assembling a strike force as we speak, they should be ready within a few days." And like that, Chocalla's grin vanished.

"Fine then, get your pet and use your talent to take the boy to their planet, I'll give you shared control of his collar with my own override in place, and you and your pet can have a little fun as well if you wish, just make sure to set up the surveillance drone so I can watch. If it gets too serious, I'll step in, but I really shouldn't have to. Take one of the dreg-squads if you want so you can get their hopes up." With that final sentence he put on a bemused grin.

Acramel nodded, and set off to gather his troops.

* * *

><p>Vinalla sniffed the air. Six of them nearby, two female four males. A whirring sound. she side-stepped, grabbing the tiny disc. Primitive weaponry, but accurate and deadly if one wasn't careful. She returned it to it's owner, it's owner fell down.<p>

She was letting her instincts control her now. She knew the time was coming. Her master had spoken to his master.

Violence was coming, she forgot now who they would fight. She had spent what seemed like a year in this room. A year training her senses. It had been a year she remembered now. But only yesterday had her master told her the plan. He would talk to his master, convince him of a threat. She couldn't remember the threat. Where did this room come from? Her master's master knew, but he was ancient.

A snap of a twig to her left, she rushed it. These weren't the real enemies, just cattle bred for her watchers' amusement. She wanted blood, but not theirs, not the enemies either but it would do.

She felt the pulse go flat. Another behind her. Idiot, it was clumsy, then it died. Three left now, one male. Didn't want to kill the females, felt bad for them, recalled feeling bad for males at some point too. What had become of her? She thought.

Her past was dark and hard to recall, but someone had wronged her.

One of the enemies stabbed her while she was distracted by thought, it hurt so she stabbed it. Female, it's eyes hardened but still softness.

She shouldn't have gotten carried away with thoughts but mistakes were hardly ever fatal for her, and she still had seven lives left anyway.

She followed her victim's line of sight. The final male. Of course, her mate. Vinalla cried. She had no idea why.

The male was angry, but Vinalla's emotions controlled her now. She tore his throat out. She fought hard now, tried to form sentences, but the collar was too strong now.

The last one ran and she screamed out trying to apologize as she followed in pursuit, but the scream was a howl of rage.

She fought hard often but to no avail. She often wished for control . She often hoped for death.

* * *

><p>Marza was impatient with his new "master". He had waited fifty years in suspended animation for the last of his race to finally free him. He was pleased to see that the only ones left of his race were resistance, and not a bunch of white-coats.<p>

He wasn't however pleased with the idea of wearing a collar. His "master" was smart though to assume he was untrustworthy, he'd give him that.

Given Marza's history, anyone looking to keep him under control would do the same.

It wasn't as useful against him though. He and Chocalla were the last of the true ancients, who had been experimented on in youth. He had more alien DNA in him, more abilities cultivated from when the resistance was strong. That's why he was here; because he was stronger than Chocalla. Eventually he would break the reigns and chaos would ensue.

But for now he was content to look forward to his next mission, which that waste of space Acramel had just informed him of. He was disgusted at the thought of him.

But that wasn't important now, because soon he'd be waist-deep in corpses. It sent shivers down his spine. A cold grin crept onto his face.

* * *

><p>After a few days of rest Tomita was up and running again, sparring with Svinich, who was relieved and excited to be sparring with his favorite partner again.<p>

Bardock had acted as a sort of drill-instructor while Tomita had been recuperating. They were to defend the village while he and a select few comrades paid Chocalla a final visit. Chocalla was not only more powerful than anything Bardock had ever faced, but had powerful soldiers like Jella at his disposal as well. That's why he agreed to bring Svinich and Tomita along on the trip. And they had selected a small task-force to accompany them as well.

Cob and Zaziphraz were up and about now after a few days after spending their last few days in two of the few rejuvenation tanks on the planet. They would take lead of the guard Bardock was training.

Thorza would watch out for them as well.

All was going according to plan. Bardock and his new crew were almost prepared for their journey after a few days of rest and relaxation.

Just one more day.

And then the portal opened.


	7. Chapter 6: Chaos ensues

Bardul had never given his attachment to Saiyan ways too much thought. Though he had been a spy for most of his life he had always fit in. He never found himself attached to the people before, as he had truly believed the Serrated to be his people.

He was strictly a spy even then; not a soldier. But even then he now felt remorse for his past actions.

At first they held a grudge for his traitorous ways. It took a while but he managed to convince them he was trying to amend his ways.

He had become attached to their lifestyle over the years. He was just now realizing that. Maybe he hadn't connected with the people themselves, but he had convinced himself they had abandoned him.

He found out the day after the battle with Jella that his real mother had been slain by a Serrated. Queen Thorza was against the slaying of non-hostiles. The Serrated lived and died for one on one combat.

But some Serrated had no idea what they fought for. Those ones often ended up executed.

So she adopted him. Thorza was his mother.

But he had never had trouble fitting in amongst the Saiyans, and now that there was a treaty he found that sitting around drinking with their guardsmen was a simple pleasure that made his life seem easier.

"I bet you… I bet three, no **_four_** coins that, that you can't be.." the drunken madman Bardul had recently learned was named Cob belched loudly before finishing his sentence, "beat…._ That_ guy… in a **fish** fight!" He gestured to the older one, Aregano. He then began laughing like a maniac and keeled over. He began snoring.

Bardul chuckled at his behavior. "Most likely not, as I haven't yet learned your flashy explodey ways!" He said. He made a gesture with his hands to simulate an explosion, "You gu.. You guys amaze me!" He downed his drink in one clumsy motion.

Life was good.

The establishment rocked. There were noises from outside. Explosions and screams.

* * *

><p>Celera and Turna were watching after Junipa. Without her grandfather around there wasn't anyone left to look after her while Svinich was busy.<p>

Celera was off duty, as her services as a medic weren't needed now that all of the fighters had recuperated. She was thankful for the Saiyans' accelerated healing which worked well in conjunction with the rejuvenation tanks.

She sighed as she watched Junipa and her friends fly about playing air-tag. Junipa was her newest apprentice, and was a quick learner, but she wasn't too excited about the girl taking on her responsibilities. Not with what she had seen in recent years. But at least they were no longer at war with the Serrated.

She caught a glimpse of Turna down on the ground. Her wounds were mostly healed though being as ancient as she was and with her fragile health she still needed a few more days. She refused to enter the tank though, and she was a stubborn one. She claimed it made her feel helpless.

Celera felt bad for her. She had once confided in Celera her feelings toward the late Gin. No one else had seen her during the ceremony but Celera. She didn't want the others to see her tears.

Celera went back to watching the children play. They were on the other side of the planet now. She had no clue the siege had begun.

* * *

><p>Bardock watched as all hell broke loose. Saiyans and invaders alike being blasted apart, blood and ki flying every which way. He was about to join in when he was hit with a tackle form behind.<p>

He picked himself up off the ground and turned to face his attacker. It was the blue-haired woman he had fought before. She looked a lot more deranged than he recalled.

A twisted smile, and claws of steel, she was dying to shred his bone. He felt it, he read it on her mind. But her mind was incomprehensible. It was like scanning the thoughts of a wild animal concerned only with survival. It was different from the first time. And beneath it all, he sensed her fear. She wasn't herself now and it scared her.

Acramel had cranked up her crazy to ensure his own victory.

Bardock rushed her, wondering if he should feel anger, guilt or nothing at all.

* * *

><p>Svinich and Tomita were resting after their final sparring session before setting out. The screams alerted them to trouble. Svinich was the first out of the bed. Tomita tried to stop him. There was a time she wouldn't have dreamed of doing something like that. She believed the commotion to be a drunken brawl; they were common during the first week after a big throw-down.<p>

He looked her in the face. "It's our duty, we have to." His expression was soft, pleading with her to understand. She sighed, "I know." She said. He walked off to get dressed.

* * *

><p>Cob and Bardul were back to back above the village. They were still in pretty rough shape from time at the pub. They were surrounded by enemies in red-uniforms.<p>

Chocalla had a twisted sense of humor.

Aregano lay beneath the rubble of the old bar. They wanted to find him, see if he was okay, but they were the only ones still standing that they were aware of. Only a few patrons had died for sure that they had known of. They would be avenged.

"I'll go high, you go low" Cob whispered to Bardul. He nodded.

The red-shirts swarmed them. Bardul did as Cob suggested. Only a few of them caught on. The others collided in an explosion of carnage.

There had been nine of them. There were three now.

Two rushed Bardul, assuming he was the bigger threat. Cob had to admit they might be right as he had spent his years fervently training with his blades. Cob on the other hand preferred drinking and napping with the occasion brawl here and there. His winning streak so far had been less than admirable.

Nonetheless he took his rage out on the single red-shirt.

Unfortunately he had drawn the short-stick as this red-shirt seemed to be made of living crystal. 'Oh well' he thought to himself, 'better to be killed than submit to death willingly,' as he braced himself for the attack.

He clumsily dodged the first attack; but he soon found that this red-shirt was trained in a style unfamiliar to him when he moved both his arms in a scissoring motion, which Cob was just barely able to get away from.

He countered with a round-house kick, which was expertly blocked and countered with a slap to the face. This red-short was odd indeed. Cob didn't feel much in the way of pain at this point though, as he was still feeling the effect of his drinking.

He rushed the red-short with a flurry of varied attacks, all of them blocked, before a kick-somersault and five ki-balls shot from the fingers on the left hand of his the strange foe.

In his youth Bardul had kept his flight a secret form his kinsmen, but now he flew proudly and gracefully (As gracefully as he could given recent events anyway).

He was a flurry of cuts and thrusts. He wielded two blades, though it would have been four if he had the extra arms of his kinsmen. His form was near perfect even in inebriation, though it could mean his life. 'Best not to think about it that way though' he thought to himself.

The red-shirts didn't have much in the way of expertise when it came to fighting swordsmen, especially ones that wielded two blades made of such an odd material.

He deflected their blasts with ease. They couldn't get close for fear of losing a limb, or worse their lives. When he got close they found themselves dodging and running.

They eventually managed to separate and rush him from front and back, but hadn't considered that maybe he had dealt with this situation once before.

He maneuvered just right, so that he was able duck their attacks. Both of them threw an attack that was way off it's mark. Unfortunately for the one that attempted to rush him from the front, he became the other one's new mark.

The other simply lost an arm, but it was more favorable to him than dying. Fortunately years of serving as one of Chocalla's personal "Venting" squad had desensitized him to pain.

His race didn't bleed much.

But his relief was short-lived as Bardul came up from beneath, slicing him up long-ways.

Cob wasn't as gifted as Bardul, so he had to hope his brute-force would prove itself the victor this time around.

He managed to dodge the scatter-attack with (sorta) graceful maneuvering, and even caught one, whirling and hurling it back. It fizzled on it's originator. He grinned like a maniac.

* * *

><p>Geizer was new to Chocalla's army, but not to the way of combat itself. He was an unfortunate prisoner of war whose planet had been destroyed during Frieza's reign. Chocalla had "inherited" him. He was the collar's first true guinea pig.<p>

But he was numb to the world around him. His mind had split in two, with his other self; his original self sitting safely inside a locked room filled with sunshine, butterflies, and pretty flowers.

The current Geizer loved his job. He had changed. Not just mentally, but physically as well. Once a radiant being seemingly made of living crystal, he had become warped and gray. His eyes had turned to an icy blue, his behavior was often manic. Crystalline horns protruded fro his head; six of them. He was a weapon, and that was what he preferred.

He rushed his opponent, slapping with great intensity, keeping the puny Saiyan on his toes. A blade tore his left shoulder.

The other Saiyan joined in on his play-time. He swatted him like a fly, breaking a rib or two, although he was just lucky enough to plant a sword in Geizer's gut. This didn't bother the brute in the least.

He had heard many stories detailing Saiyans as people who could take a lot of abuse. But none had ever taken abuse from _him_ before.

He brought his other arm down on this swordsman's shoulder, sending him plummeting to the ground. As he fell, the Saiyan tossed his remaining blade at Geizer.

"Foolish Saiyan" Geizer said, ' I can dodge too easily." A roaring laugh erupted from the narrow-minded bruiser as the blade soared harmlessly past him.

He was a vicious fighter, and a brutal when it came to killing, but he never was the brightest bulb. He had been foolish though and taken his eye off his opponent.

Cob knew Bardul's swords could cut his opponent now; the red-shirt's gut was a glaring testament. The brute didn't notice Bardul's expression before finishing him, and this worked to Cob's advantage.

The sword had been aimed not at their enemy but at the person behind him; Cob, who had about a split second of a breather before his partner let him in on the plan he had just concocted.

Cob struck his opponent without hesitation, putting all his speed and might behind the final blow. The red-shirt had just caught on. He had gotten top distracted gloating.

His blade struck as if cutting through... well something softer than crystal at any rate. Geizer's head and body fell separately toward the rubble below.

Bardul saw Cob's victory from below. He smiled weakly, as his head lulled. darkness embraced him, all concern for life and death vanished as he passed out.


	8. Chapter 7: Seeing triple

Zaziphraz was the last to enter the fray. He had been off flying, trying to clear his head. He was going to have to step up while his comrades were off fighting Chocalla.

He didn't know if he could shoulder that responsibility. Sure Cob and Aregano would help, but he out-ranked them.

He would be the head of the outfit, even if only temporarily.

When he returned, half the village was in ruins. Many of the old and young had evacuated, and the enemies hadn't felt the need to follow, but there were still people left fighting the invasion.

'What are the odds?' He thought to himself, 'so many goddamn invasions in such a short time?"

He flew off toward the danger though, blasting random invaders left and right. He caught sight of his brother and his newest bedmate fighting off invaders as well.

Tomita was pissed. He pitied the invaders at that thought.

* * *

><p>Bardock's first attack was met with a block, followed up with a slash at his ribs. He managed to block it, but it tore his arms up.<p>

He rushed the mad-woman-beast thing with a flurry of punches and an occasional kick. She blocked them, and countered with a flurry of scratches and kicks of her own.

It went on for some time like that; just the two of them beating on each other, taking out their frustrations. Vinalla's other side would surface from time to time though; it wasn't completely stamped out yet. This took Bardock by surprise, as she would suddenly stopping fighting back and take the punishment.

And then when he eased up she'd snap again, and go into full-on assault mode. Her eyes were full of despair.

The collar was on her mind constantly. He had noticed it right away, but any attempts at removing it resulted in a new set of cuts and bruises.

"You don't want to fight do you?" He said as she struggled to back away, "I can tell, you don't of course, I'm not dumb but I figure you needed to hear it anyway."

He was right, tears rand down her eyes.

"Yeah, I can see that you're not enjoying this now, but before when you were in control, you enjoyed our little encounter, well I'm going to try and help you okay?"

She lunged, but he saw it coming. He side-stepped, and threw an attack that sent her flying, causing her to crumple and fall to the ground.

"You just have to fight it a little longer, and I'll remove it okay?"

The crazy-woman grunted. He knew it meant "Yes", so he approached her, wary.

He unfastened the collar. It was simple really, the key to doing so was in her mind the entire time, but she couldn't do it herself, it wouldn't let her, not even when she was seemingly in full control.

He tossed it aside, blasting it to bits.

She managed to get herself up off the ground.

"Tha-" But before she could finish an explosion cut her short; a blast of ki, from the one she had regarded as master.

Acramel realized now that it was foolish to tamper with the settings on Vinalla's collar. Her aggression was at odds with her true nature. She might have been more faithful if he hadn't, but he had noticed lately her depression after killing.

But no matter as she was dead now, he would just have to finish her opponent himself.

* * *

><p>Svinich stood atop a mountain of rubble, fending off three aerial invaders. They were a flurry of attacks, and one wielded baton-like weaponry in both hands.<p>

Tomita noticed a sly grin on his face as he tossed them in all directions, killing two of them with dual-blasts. The last one rushed him. It was the baton-wielder. Svinich dis-armed him (Literally and figuratively actually). The invader fought back with his feet.

Niether of them saw the attack from marza coming. It was a bright bluish blast of ki that engulfed both of them in a blaze of sudden death.

Tomita screamed out, ascending beyond the usual Super Saiyan form. She had been able to before of course. She had reached the second level a long time ago, though Svinich hadn't known. He himself had been close, but never managed it.

But she didn't want him to know. Because she loved him of course.

But now there was no telling him that. Her rage was uncontrollable. Marza never saw it coming. His race didn't treat their females with as much respect as they should have.

Tomita hadn't even registered on his threat radar.

She tore into him, bludgeoning him with extreme prejudice, screaming profanities he had never even heard before.

He managed to start fighting back, but he was on the defensive. Still his grin was smug. He enjoyed pain, be it inflict on his foes or himself, or both at the same time If possible.

"GGGGRRRHHHH... **You pompous ass**!" Tomita roared with anger "I'll**_ kill_** you damn it!"

He didn't believe her of course, as he launched a devastating backhand, sending her into last standing wall of someone's home.

"You're adorable," he said arrogantly, a sinister grin on his unnaturally child-like face, "but I'm afraid the _master_ won't let me have my own pet like that bastard Acramel," the word master was rife with sarcasm."

"He is such a little brown-noser, I mean his collar isn't even activated, it's just there for emergencies, which of course there never are."

He bombarded the immediate area, including Tomita's current location. She lashed out with her own ki though, sending a sort of destructive barrier.

When she emerged hos back was turned to her, and a he had found a small squad of Saiyan guardsmen to entertain him.

Tomita's rage was unstoppable. The Saiyans were dead before her attack connected of course, but she was beyond concern for their lives at the moment. She was all too glad after, that their deaths weren't her doing. Marza erupted in a blaze of ki and blood, raining down over the immediate area.

From behind Tomita a pair of arms wrapped around her. They were hesitant, gentle arms. Her rage subsided.

* * *

><p>Bardock was superior to Acramel in terms of combat at this point. His newfound power was overwhelming. Acramel was going too die. The Saiyan knew it, and he knew Acramel knew it too.<p>

Bardock threw a barrage of punches, which he somehow managed to block, before sending his own attack; a blast of searing energy that scorched Bardock's left shoulder and arm.

And then the bastard up and vanished.

More portals opened.

"Well I figured seeing as I'm obviously no match for someone so great like you, I'd bring in some buddies of mine!" He said as he re-appeared between his other selves.

"Lemarca, Cremaal!" He shouted, insanity overwhelming him, "**COME OUT AND PLAY**!"

They were similar in appearance to him, but they were different. One had rotting flesh and an exposed rib-cage, with one missing eye. This was the one he addressed as Cremaal.

And Lemarca seemed much more… refined. He had what ressembled a sort of mustache. Of villainy. He even spoke in an oddly refined tone.

"So I presume you are having trouble my diabolic duplicate?" A smirk of insanity played at his mouth, revealing yellow fangs, "but of course the three of us are undoubtedly far superior with our combined efforts no?" He dre a rapier that shimmered with every color on the spectrum.

It tore at the air, whistling with an unnatural sound that brought up feelings of dread in lesser men.

Bardock deflected it with ease, and punched the campy little twit in the nose. The undead Cremaal was next, roaring like mad-beast as it swung a crude cudgel at him.

He caught it, and noticed it wasn't a cudgel, but the thing's right arm, that had mutated into a natural weapon. He tore the weapon away from it's wielder, and blasted it straight in the face, tearing it's head from it's neck.

The villainous caricature was up again now, thrusting his rapier at Bardock with increasing ferocity. Acramel joined him, attacking him from his left, while Lemarca took his right. He was hard-pressed to keep up.

He managed to get a hold on both of their wrists, swinging them to collide with each other, and flipping backwards before throwing an attack.

But a portal opened, sending the blast into another dimension. Fortunately Acramel hadn't had enough time to think of opening anther behind him.

Acramel grinned wickedly.

"Looks like even together we're out-matched, this IS unfortunate!" He reached his left hand out toward Lemarca without looking at him.

He grabbed Lemarca's wrist, and drained the life out of him. The other turned to dust and blew away with the wind.

"Unfortunately for me, the Cremaal was already dead, even before you killed him, but no matter one more life-force should do it, and I can always summon more if I really need to.

He approached Bardock.

Now let's you and me finish this.

They collided with great force. They were almost evenly matched now. Acramel had gained the ability to conjure ki-swords in both hand, and was able to keep Bardock at bay for quite a while, until a blazing disc of ki tore his arms from his body.

Bardock took this opportunity to give him a good backhand, tossing him into some nearby rubble.

Bardock glanced to his right, to see who his savior was. The cat-lady had inexplicably risen from what he had assumed was her demise.

"What the hell?" he stared in disbelief, "how the hell did you get… get back up? You were dead!"

"Oh never mind that," she said, "I've got six lives left now, but I will say that dying was a good thing at this point, clears the mind"

Bardock stared at her in confusion.

"Although I can faintly recall my previously life, many memories were lost, I only remember the people I've met, and especially the ones I hate." Her tone was bitter.

Bardock was relieved to find that he wasn't on that list, though he wasn't sure why.

"Anyway, I must thank you now… Bardock." She smiled, "You're my savior, that is why I do not hate you, so from now on unless you deem it so we are not enemies."

He nodded. Then he registered movement from the corner of his eye. Acramel had opened a new portal. He entered laughing like a maniac, "I'll just have to hope Marza takes care of you two then!"

Bardock dashed toward him, pushing off from the ground, rocketing toward the portal. Vinalla was right behind him.

Acramel's portal didn't close. His eyes went wide with amazement. He suddenly remembered that Chocalla had been watching the whole time.


	9. Chapter 8: Three's the charm

Okay so here's the last chapter. Next is the epilogue, then the story's finished and I'll probably attempt another (Longer) story. Thanks to everyone who's been reading it, especially those who have commented both on this version andthe previous one.

* * *

><p>Zaziphraz noticed what he presumed to be an enemy darting toward a portal. He decided against his better judgment to pursue her.<p>

The portal closed behind him. He was in a dark room with three doors, one of which was open. The woman he had followed turned to face him. There was an explosion in the corridor the open door led to.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned, "you should have stayed back on your planet!" she hissed.

"I wasn't going to let you come back for reinforcements… or whatever the hell your plan is.. Incidentally what IS it?" He was poised to attack.

"I have no plan," she said coolly, "your friend with the bandana is about to slay my former master's master." Zaziphraz noticed a pleased grin on her face.

'Of course,' he thought to himself, 'she's planning to become the _new_ master when this is all over.'

He lunged. She seemed to be taken by surprise, but her instincts took over. She deflected all of his blows, before launching an open-hand thrust into his face, then grabbed him by the neck and tossed him against the wall.

"I have no reason to fight you," she snarled, "and it would be an uneven match anyway, now that I have full control of myself."

She vanished.

Zaziphraz had no idea what to do now, so he went off in search of Bardock.

* * *

><p>Bardock tossed two balls of ki at Acramel, one from each hand. Acramel, who had been caught unaware, was evaporated.<p>

"The master's chambers are this way." Vinalla said as she put a code into a number-pad.

"Okay," Bardock said, "let's go." Vinalla nodded, her face showing determined. He turned and headed off to find Chocalla.

After a few minutes however, he noticed Vinalla wasn't behind him. Using his telepathy he found that she was being hindered by Zaziphraz.

She let him know she was on her way, and appeared in front of him, just in time to put in another code. Bardock entered first.

* * *

><p>Chocalla sat in a stereotypical evil over-lord style throne. On the floor were several bodies of his venting squad. On his face was an sinister grin.<p>

The room was rather large, and well-lit, but rather plain. The head of the Ragus stood, and approached his foes, stopping mid-way.

"I seen you've gotten a lot stronger since our last encounter." he said studying Bardock head to toe, "And your new attire is rather snappy as well."

He wore his guardsmen uniform, which was similar to standard Saiyan battle-armor, and had a blue and green color scheme.

Chocalla's battle-armor screamed evil overlord, complete with evil cape.

"So are we about to start this thing or what?" Said Chocalla. He was getting impatient. There was a slight bit of despair in his voice too. Sure he was an evil overlord, but a majority of his best henchman had been killed recently, which meant his empire was crumbling before it could really get started.

He had been close to resurrecting his people, and restarting their race as he saw fit. He would make sure his plans came to fruition.

He rushed Bardock, intending to keep the Saiyan from transforming,hoping to keep the battle short (Though to be honest, long? short? he'd take it either way, so long as he had some fun with it). It worked. At first.

* * *

><p>Bardock was outmatched without his ability to go super. He deflected a few hits here and there, but Chocalla got in a few good ones too.<p>

His armor was severely damaged before Vinalla made her move. She edged around the room, getting herself right behind Chocalla before shifting and pouncing.

She tore at his back, before he was able to whirl around, swatting her and tossing her into his throne, destroying it.

Bardock transformed while this was happening as Vinalla had intended. He attacked Chocalla, throwing a furious punch in his face, followed up with a kick.

He threw another punch but Chocalla caught it, laughing maniacally, "Oh this IS going to be fun isn't it?"

Bardock smirked, kneeing him in the gut. He staggered, then shot a burst of ki at the Saiyan, before Vinalla charged in and impaled his right shoulder with her claws. He laughed some more.

"Your spirit is commendable, but ultimately futile, as I have stated before I am not just one race, but many, and at the end of the day I heal faster, and become stronger for it."

He whipped around, dislodging Vinalla, and tossing her into Bardock. He then sent a beam of ki at them. When it dispersed however, it revealed Zaziphraz, who had blocked the attack with his arms. His hair burning gold, his eyes blazing blue.

"Whatever man," he said defiantly, "there's still three of us and one of you."

He charged Chocalla, pummeling him and following up with a barrage of ki-blasts, to no avail as Chocalla shrugged them off.

"Well that may be, but I am more than you three combined, and the only one who could have hoped to defeat me is dead now, at the hands of a poor devastated woman who wrongly believed him to have killed her mate." He went insane with laughter.

"Isn't that amusing? And to think that if SHE were here I might actually fall!"

He sent a finger-beam at Zaziphraz, who sidestepped and countered with a hand-beam.

Bardock and Vinalla joined him. Chocalla had little trouble deflecting their attacks and countering. The entire time he laughed at them, genuinely amused.

He sent out a surge of ki, which tossed his opponents.

"Well I hope you'll excuse me for a minute while I slip into something a bit more formal, you see we couldn't have an all-out dramatic battle to the death if we didn't all show off our most powerful forms could we?"

He started shifting form, which only took a few seconds. He had six arms, and he was two feet taller, with (literally) eyes in the back of his head. He had spikes growing out of his knees and elbows. His nose became pointed like a mosquitoes'.

"You like?" He said in a gravelly voice, that had become deeper, "I just thought of it, you see one of the species whose DNA I had injected into me were able to alter their bodies at will, and gain a bit more power, I was afraid I might not be able to come up with something terrifying on such short notice."

"You like to hear yourself talk don't you?" Bardock said. He charged the Ragus, barraging him with spears of ki.

Zaziphraz and Vinalla flanked him, and tossed their own attacks. Chocalla's laughter drowned out the explosions of ki.

He managed to toss Bardock and Vinalla aside and grabbed Zaziphraz by the neck. "Let me show you how hopeless you really are!" He tossed Zaziphraz upward, toward the impossibly high ceiling. Then he was above the helpless Saiyan. His left arm shifted into a demonically sharp sickle, impaling his victim.

Bardock stared helplessly, a silent rage overcoming him. Vinalla roared. She shifted to her feline form and leapt up into the air, firing eye-beams at him.

He merely shrugged as they fizzled against his body, and struck her down without emotion.

Bardock's rage was uncontrollable. In a blur he was behind the maniac. He struck him with all the force he could muster, before an explosion of rage and ki burst forth, so immense that apart the walls and ceiling. He blasted Chocalla several times.

He rushed him, pummeling and kicking.

The cruel grin was gone.

Chocalla tried his sickle-attack again, but it was useless; Bardock grabbed it, and brought his arm town breaking it and effectively taking one of his arms away.

As Chocalla screamed out in pain and rage, Bardock made a disc-shaped attack (He didn't have a name for it, but basically it was a destructo disc or a kienzan for those who dislike the English term).

The disc decapitated Chocalla, and Bardock made sure to destroy his head with one final ki-blast.

The fight was over. Bardock took a look around at the aftermath.

Zaziphraz was dead, as Vinalla confirmed. "I can't feel his life," she said as she stared at his lifeless body from afar.

She was covered in cuts and bruises, that were slowly healing before Bardock's eyes; They healed at a fairly noticeable rate.

Bardock felt grief for Svinich, who he figured probably wouldn't take the news too well. He grabbed Zaziphraz's body and hoisted his fallen friend over his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here." He said gruffly.

"We will," said Vinalla, "but first we should make sure this place goes out in an explosion to ensure there aren't any future Chocalla's"

Bardock nodded. "We'll get Zazi to the escape vessel first then."

* * *

><p>Once Zaziphraz's body was aboard the ship Vinalla found for them, they headed in search of the control panels that would set the fortress to self-destruct.<p>

As they took off toward the Saiyans' planet; Bardock's new home, they never looked back as the place was wiped off the face of Chocalla's planet.

Victory was theirs. Zaziphraz would have been glad to know that Chocalla was gone for good.


	10. Epilogue: A fairly happy ending

Well the epilogue turned out shorter than I was hoping, but I'm not too good with the emotional tear-felt happy ending thing, and couldn't think of any good dialogue. At some point I think I considered blowing up the planet as a joke, but decided it was a terrible joke. Originally I was gonna continue the story a few years later or something like that to keep the story going, but I probably won't now. I've got another story planned, but it won't be Bardock based. It will probably still turn out a lot more violent than originally intended though.

* * *

><p>"How did you-"<p>

"How are you still alive?" tears ran down Tomita's face.

They were surrounded by their remaining allies. A few Serrated had shown up when they heard the commotion, and stood with the crowd. Their tension was silent but obvious.

"Aregano…" Svinich's face was delicate; his eyes were sad, "he showed up just as I realized I was about to die, he pushed me out of the way…"

"He didn't make it."

The surrounding Saiyans sulked in silence; They tried to be strong.

"I owe him my life."

As Bardock had expected, Svinich hadn't taken his brother's death too well. On top of Aregano's sacrifice, was too much to take.

He broke down crying; A rare sight to his fellow Saiyans. But they had always been different from their ancestors, so it was bound to turn out that they could feel emotions like that.

After a few days he was able to move on though with the help of Tomita.

* * *

><p>Vinalla found a nice cave nearby and declared it her new home. She would often visit the village for sparring sessions with Bardock.<p>

At first Thorza was a bit jealous over their relationship. Their first meeting resulted in the destruction of several mountains.

They eventually settled their differences though, and the Saiyans were glad that got cleared up.

Thorza still considered Bardock "hers" for a while, but they did eventually settle on a sort of odd friendship (Thorza was still overly protective, but at least she didn't keep him prisoner).

Svinich stepped up to take over his father's position as the mayor or head-elder or whatever Gin had been as they never really settled on a title.

Celera and Turna returned to a village in ruins, but they were thankful to have gotten the children away from it all.

The village was rebuilt with the help of Vinalla and some of the Serrated. Bardul decided to live with the Saiyans after the battle and join the guardsmen, but promised Thorza he'd visit often.

She was proud of her son.

* * *

><p>Of course Tomita and Svinich ended up married, and left the guardsmen in Bardock and Cob's hands.<p>

Junipa went on to join the guardsmen in later years too, and gained a reputation similar to her father's.

For the most part everything was fine (for the time being anyway…), and life got peaceful again.

Of course the planet was home to a couple of races who got pretty violent every now and then, so things were never _too _quite, but at least nobody died (well there may have been an accident or two…).

* * *

><p>Bardock kept himself in shape, constantly sparring with Vinalla, Tomita, Thorza, Cob, and Svinich. Sometimes they all fought each other at the same time, sometimes they paired up or worked in three-person teams.<p>

Bardock found his place in life. He was happy for once. He eventually found a wife (Not saying who) and had three children.

He may or may not have died in battle.

* * *

><p>And that as they say, is that...<p> 


End file.
